Virat Kohli, captain of the Royal Challengers Bangalore and the most popular IPL player on Twitter with more than 3.15 million followers, secured his position at the top for a second week running in the most talked about IPL players,according to a compilation released by a public relations agency.
Yuvraj Singh came rushing back into the top 10 at No.2 on the back of his record-breaking 9 sixes barrage against Delhi Daredevils. MS Dhoni and Chris Gayle complete the Top 4, having moved up 2 and 3 spots respectively. Following on from last, the top 10 is split evenly between Indian and international players (5 & 5).
On the all time Twitter follower charts, Virat Kohli (3.15 million followers) is outpacing the rest, gaining ~70,000 new followers in the fourth week of the IPL, the highest of anyone in the top 10. (See below for Top 10 list of most followed IPL players)
Rajasthan Royals’ comeback victory over Royal Challengers Bangalore, with a finish featuring 65 runs in the last 3 overs, was the most talked about match on Twitter last week followed by Royal Challengers Bangalore’s home win over Delhi Daredevils, which saw Yuvraj Singh light up the night with a match-winning 68 off just 29 balls.
Chennai Super Kings’s win over Mumbai Indians featuring a last over MS Dhoni special was at No.3. Royal Challengers Bangalore features in 3 of the top 4 matches with the most conversation.
As a result, Royal Challengers Bangalore displaced Mumbai Indians as the most talked about team on Twitter last week. Kolkata Knight Riders moved up one spot to No.3 from last week, going past Chennai Super Kings.
Chennai Super Kings went past the 675,000 followers mark on an all-time basis in Week 4, ending at ~678,000 but the story of the week comes from Kings XI Punjab who are gaining traction fast and are now neck-to-neck with Delhi Daredevils for the 6th spot having ended the week with ~256,000 followers after having started the season in the last spot.
Top 10 Most Mentioned IPL Players on Twitter (from May 10-May 18, 2014)
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1. Virat Kohli (@imVkohli) (stays #1 for 2nd week in a row)
2. Yuvraj Singh (@YUVSTRONG12) (back in the top 10 after 2 week absence)
3. MS Dhoni (@msdhoni) (up two spots to #3)
4. Chris Gayle (@henrygayle) (up 3 spots to #4)
5. Kevin Pietersen (@kp24) (up one spot to #5)
6. AB De Villiers (@ABdeVilliers17) (drops 4 spots to #6)
7. Glenn Maxwell (@Gmaxi_32) (drops 4 spots to #7)
8. Suresh Raina (@ImRaina) (same as last week)
9. Gautam Gambhir (@gautamgambhir) (back in the top 10 after 1 week absence)
4. Dale Steyn (@DaleSteyn62) (drops 6 spots to #10)
Some of the Most Retweeted Tweets (from May 10-May 18, 2014) –
SHAH RUKH KHAN (@iamsrk): Mother like love for KKR on this Mother’s Day. All the best boys. At the shoot doing my Romantic schtick…all the best girls! (1406 ReTweets)
SHAH RUKH KHAN (@iamsrk):Time to give us smiles….go KKR….feel like a high tonight. (1,196 ReTweets)
Kevin Pietersen (@kp24): So – @henrygayle made @YUVSTRONG12 pay the bill! Thanks #piechucker! Lovely to see@imVkohli again too… (793 ReTweets)